Warning of the alarming rise in number of female
smokers across the country, Hassan Azaripour said, "Smoking rate for men is
still higher than women, but what is important is that smoking pattern is on the
verge of change in developing countries, including Iran."

According to Azaripour, women account for about 20-25 percent of smokers in
developed countries, while the figure is between four and eight percent in
developing states.

Health Minister Marzieh Vahid-Dastjerdi has recently warned of the rising number
of teenage smokers, saying that 80% of the country's smokers get into the habit
under the age of 15.

According to the official figures, smoking is responsible for 30% of cancer
deaths and 90% of lung cancers.

And smoking age has been reduced to 13 in the country, although smokers are
mostly over the age of 30.